Godzilla Minus One Just Got A Huge Honor - That No Filmmaker Wants

"Godzilla Minus One" can't stop breaking records. The Kaiju film became the first "Godzilla" release to win an Oscar earlier this year, making history for the storied franchise. Beyond its critical acclaim, "Minus One" blew everyone away at the box office, emerging as the highest-grossing Japanese-language film in the franchise. With so much love for the picture, is it surprising to learn that "Godzilla Minus One" is the most pirated film in the world? Torrent Freak's data reveals that the 2023 flick quickly became the most-stolen film in the world for the week of May 6, besting the likes of "Dune: Part Two" and Nicolas Cage's "Arcadian." 

The film's surge in popularity on torrent sites comes after it was officially released for streaming on Prime Video in Japan. The Toho-produced "Godzilla" was released on Blu-Ray in Japan on May 1. While it's great that audiences are seeking out the monster flick, it's also disappointing that they're not doing so legally, which deprives the award-winning creatives of being financially compensated for all their hard work. 

Then again, those outside of Japan have no legal means of watching the film as Toho hasn't released the film on streaming services or digital storefronts. The studio also hasn't commissioned physical copies for international distribution. As of this writing, an official streaming release date for North American viewers has yet to be confirmed. Those eager to watch the film legally on Prime Video Japan can do so with a VPN (Virtual Private Network). 

It's genuinely surprising that Toho hasn't made the film available to watch for users outside of Japan. "Godzilla Minus One" arrived stateside on December 1, 2023 (a month after it debuted in Japan), and only got screened in 2,308 theatres, a rather muted number. Still, the film made nearly $57 million in the United States and Canada, proving that Western audiences were hungry for grounded Godzilla fare. The film ultimately left theaters in North America on February 1, 2024, and fans who missed Godzilla's roar during its theatrical run are pretty much out of luck. 

Seeing as the stretch between theatrical debuts and streaming release dates continues to shrink, it's fascinating that "Godzilla Minus One" is taking such an old-school approach. One would think that after the film won its Oscar, the studio would be eager to show off its crown jewel. Alas, fans are riding to the high seas to get their "Godzilla" fix. With the film back in the conversation, fans on X, formerly known as Twitter, are voicing how annoyed they are that they can't just simply watch "Minus One" by supporting its cast and crew. "They're missing out on big money by not making this masterpiece available to stream everywhere," shared @TheJonalis. "I don't understand why the studios simply can't [allow] the movie to be properly released in the West, especially on physical media," said @avidfilm. 

Should "Godzilla Minus One" ever receive a sequel, let's hope that its digital and home release is more carefully planned out.